Landing
by Omicron the IceQueen
Summary: The Wrecker's shuttle 'Xianthum' lands on earth... on top of a very startled native life form. Now they just have to catch it, and treat it for any radiation they collected from the mother-ship to the surface. And why are these other fleshies with the Prime freaking out so much? They fixed the native they landed on!
1. Chapter 1

Queen's Note: Okay, this is half trade, half gift story for Storm Dracona. Why I say that is that normally a trade story is 1,000 to 2,000 words and this is a two part thing. Hope you like it sweetie! Everyone else... watch out for the Master Of Subtlety. Really, he's going to be a bit grumpy XD

**Landing**

Part One

"It's a cute planet." Topspin tilted his head, sensor strips shifting with the movement as he regarded the screen in the front of the bridge before turning to glance at the others to see their reactions along with Roadbuster's.

"Mostly under water," Perceptor noted as she reached to one side, trailing connecting cables be hide her arm as she tapped one of the many control boards around her in the Command Nest. In turn a secondary holographic screen popped up showing the first real scan results on the planet that came back from Xianthum's echoes. "Dirt, water and organic life..." the claw tips of her other hand drubbed a thoughtful rhythm.

"Rapture will like that if he ever comes 'round 'ere." X-Brawn chuckled, leaning back in his seat at the security station behind and to the right of the Nest. In front of him was Red Alert at weapon's, close enough that he could reach out his larger arm and tweak one of her feet. He didn't of course as very few dared to tease the femmie, though X-Brawn was one of the few who could he was saving it for later. Instead he continued, "Probably won't get him out of those big seas for a good few hundred years." He stretched, flexing his power arm and sagged with tiredness in the action.

"Sideburn giving you a run for your credits?" Red Alert smirked as she watched him.

"Sideburn, Hotrod, an' half of the youngin's want to take a run of the course." The other Second chuckled.

Roadbuster turned from where he was standing beside the nest, grinning as his visor flashed a playful green-blue shade, "Said it before an' will again: Good luck with those two."

Behind the Foreman at the engineering station to the right of the Command Nest, another green mech was chuckling. He was taller than Roadbuster and had lanky legs, his visor seemed to be suck on shades of red. Turning in his seat and hocking an arm over the back of the chair back to look at the rest of the rest of the mechs and femmeis that made of the current full bridge crew. All were command staff, the Foreman and his Seconds had planned it this way so they could have both a due meeting to talk about general matters of Platform life, the latest batches of refugees that had to been taken in, be healed and settled. As well as plans of what to do when arriving, and only Thirds were allowed to listen in outside of the bridge.

"As amusing as this is," Hook commented, "We are passing into the system's outer edge. Blaster can you hear any echoes other than Xianthum's?"

Heads turned to look at the front and just to the right of the bridge at the tiny Sound Master. More Minicon then Minobot, Blaster was trailing his hands delicately through a light display of sound in front of him. Blaster had managed to coax the Xianthum into letting him mess with making a sound to color display that only he and his 'minions' of Microcons such as Rewind and Eject could read it with no problems. The small, red and silver mech was tilting his head this way and that, studying and interacting with the signals that was coming in, decoding it and then scanning the clear text/shades.

Behind him Red Alert revved her alternate form's engine, the equivalent of a human clearing their throat to prompt someone.

Startled out of his absorbing study Blaster looked up, optics wide as he turned around to flash his optics in a blink, "What?"

"Echoes?" Roadbuster reminded before Hook could get too annoyed, Blaster was almost always aware of what was said or heard around him. If not him then Rewind and Eject would catch it and transmit it to him.

"Right!" Baster nodded, taking over the main display as Rewind transformed into his robot form from where he had been sitting on the station, to help. The main display in the front of the bridge had the image of the blue and green/brown world was pushed to a smaller window, another two popping up show the star and all its planetary satellites, the marble world highlighted as well as a smaller moon for one of the bigger planetary bodies.

"There's transmissions coming from two places," Rewind piped up, he was half the size of Blaster and was mostly black with white highlights and a dark brown/red shade in undertones, blue optics seem to be always wide and ready to absorb any and everything he could from the world around him. Like Blaster and his brother, Rewind was the pride and joy work of Red Alert and Perceptor, and some day would be as big as his current partner and teacher.

Right now though, he touched the 'Earth' world on the smaller display in front of him, "This is where the strongest ones are coming from, Eject and I are already working to crack the more dominate languages with Xianthum's help, but the big femmie is also hearing Cybertronian transitions from the planet as well."

"That is where Optimus Prime and his crew are. Or should be at least," Perceptor sat up a little in the Command Nest, running her clawed digits over the lines connected to her sides, debating if she should unhook to help. The red and black femmie was after the PM, and would need to organize the loading of one of the shuttles docked on the outer hull of the Xianthum.

"What about that other moon?" X-Brawn butted in, skimming translated Autobot transmissions from the blue world with one optic at the same time. "If their getting' loud enough tah pick them up out 'ere, could be a threat."

"We're also closer to them then the third planet." Hock pointed out, and glanced over at the nodding Minibot.

"The sounds are different too," Blaster added in, bringing up a comparison image in the main display for the echoes coming from both planet and moon. One was without a doubt far more complicated with weaving colored and some textured line, while the other was more simple and looked in comparison more uniform and regular instead of random, "These lines are almost more like what happened in the crystal belt a vron ago that Xianthum had to hide in. I'm bettin' that whoever's there are using crystals to amplify their communications in-planet."

"Moon," Rewind corrected.

Blaster did the equivalent of rolling his optics, "Lunar-planetoid."

"Good enough compromise," The Microcon agreed as little hands working on the console, he was putting most of his focused on helping their living ship to crack the blue-world's languages.

"So how are we going to go about the landing Foreman?" Perceptor asked from within the Nest, looking up at the green and silver mech beside her. "The Xianthum cannot land on that little planet, even at the slowest she will be burning much of their atmosphere. The landing itself, on land or in water will be devastating to a planet with that much bio-mass, as well as the repairs we will have to do on the Platform. Not to even mention what will happen in a takeoff will entail after restocking for a local solar cycle to get a proper overflow of energon to make the endeavor."

"In other words," Red Alert translated without looking up from her screen, "Take a shuttle boss mech."

With an exasperated sound Perceptor glanced at her friend before turning her green and blue optics back up to meet the gaze of the amused Foreman, "We will save energon, time and unnecessary work to leave the Xianthum in space. Take a shuttle."

Roadbuster chuckled, shaking his head at the two before he considered the forward screens again. Tapping a claw on his other arm he pushed himself off leaning on the lip of the Command Nest and uncrossed his arms. The mech tapped the holographic display, and Xianthum magnified the blue and green planet each time he taped until the content the Prime currently resided on was displaying all the interesting things such as lights and energy readings that the ship could pick up from here. "Hmmm..."

"Scanners up ya'll!" X-Brawn's voice startled everyone who was staring at their leader, the mech was standing reflexively with his larger hand grasping and clenching at the air as he pulled up the solar system display on the main screen again. "We're not alone after all, Metrotitan spotted."

"Who is it?" Hook and Roadbuster demanded at the same time, the taller Hook rocking back a bit, winced and reminded himself once more that he was no longer a Foreman. He couldn't help that itch to take charge, but without a Datum no Wrecker would really fallow him instinctually anymore. It was one more reason why Hook hated Megatron and Shockwave, and their meddling.

"Conflicting signals, two name glyphs are coming up from the same source." Blaster reported, "The core one is Trypticon, over laying it identifies him as a Decepticon Flag Ship class _Nemesis_."

"Slaved Metrotitan," Perceptor growled her systems lightly, gripping the edges of the Command Nest in a possessive mix of feels that came from her duty as a Platform manager, as well as one of Xianthum's spark-parents. "Xianthum is coming about to face him." The red and white femmie's optics were unforced as she turned her attention fully to the link up with the Platform, riding along on Xianthum's senses as much as added suggestions on what to do.

The deck under them vibrated as the Platform gave a warning warble to the other. The passive interest in the inhabited planets, and more keen interest in the asteroid belt for its metals, now all changed. As the song of greeting that rolled over Xianthum's hull had amorous (but cautious) interest and intent from Trypticon it caused her to clamp her outer armor plates, some as large as the shuttles docked on her hull.

A vibrating rumble that could be considered a growl echoed from Xianthum before her song took a notable grumpy, sharp edge to it. Relatively, and in human terms she was fat and heavily pregnant. Charring five nearly fully formed young Metrotitans that would be either a platform, a city, a living ship or a station, and all starting to strain to brake their supporting harnessed in Xianthum's self-made gravity. With each crack and shutter over the last year caused the Wrecker ship to send out what could only be called a yelp.

So now, so near to splitting her hull to birth her young, Xianthum was in a word: _Cranky_.

To the point that she started circle closer to Trypticon in the solar system with cannons primed and hot as she stalked him in a predator/attack-ship like faction. Not listening to Perceptor or Roadbuster other than keeping a planet or the sun between her and the marble world and them. Trypticon flared his plates, showing off angles for a while, and then swung wide and away, back out of firing range of the Platform.

The two Metrotitans cruised around the system one more time before finding as close as an easy peaceful distance as they could. Each on the other side of system, hidden mostly from sight from Earth and its natives but able to eye each other with one being distrustful, the other admiring. Trypticon rumbled and rolled so his underside was facing the sun to bask and create energon. At the same time Xianthum nearly dove into the asteroid belt, tractor beams and manipulate graspers reaching for the nearest reasonable sized rocked to start crushing and processing into refined Cybertronian alloys.

"...she calmed down now?" Roadbuster asked from where he was crouched, looking over the lip of the Command Nest to meet Perceptor's wide optics. Her claws were fully extended and dug into the grips, while the Platform Manager staring sightlessly into space, "Shiela? Percy?"

"I... dare say that I need a cuddle..." Perceptor said slowly as she slowly came back to herself. She lightly touched the mind of Xianthum, "She is craving metal again... Foreman I am going to send a message to Metroplex to hurry up and get here before Xianthum's hull starts to split."

"Good idea," Roadbuster agreed before looking around the bridge, "Everyone alive?" He called, getting grumbling assents as mechs sat back up from the duck and cling reflex. "Good, time ta' work than."

"...frag you Foreman."

"Love ya' too Red!"

"A planet!" Hotrod cheered, throwing up his arms in a good spazz while at the same time spinning in a circle on his wheeled 'feet' before coasting up to the clear observation wall like 'window.'

Red Alert arched an optic ridge as she looked over, "Its a wet planet." She pointed out to the Foreman's progeny.

Wedge looked up from his spot against the observation wall, started. "Wet? Well, it is reflecting much light in a non-metallic way that we can see right now at Xianthum's current angle for echoes."

"Its mostly water," Red Alert corrected mater of fatly, her expression controlled as Perceptor turned her back to play along.

"I would suggest an aquatic alternate form." She added to her friend's game.

Sideburn squawked, more for the medic's words rather than the fact that Hotrod was climbing up the bigger blue mech's form to get to Sideburn's shoulders. The fallowing pause had all three youths as well as a few other mechs staring with wide optics at the two red femmies.

X-Brawn chuckled as he walked by, reaching out to run his larger hand over the helms of his younger brother- more charge, as well as the bright red Minibot, "Ya'll can still run around, there's plenty o' dry land on the planet." He laughed softly as the trio all revved in the equivalent of sigh before cheering in typical Wrecker fashion, then Sideburn and Hotrod pounced on Wedge to start in on a discussion of how what of their race track designs to try first on a planet's gravity.

"So, who is the boss bringing with him?" Drift asked from where he was leaning against the hall outside the bridge, reaching out to pull Perceptor against his pale form with one hand. He knew from the moment Xianthum had her grump at Trypticon thanks to their bond. He ran his hands up her sides before wrapping his arms around his mate to hold her against his chest and spark to let Perceptor fully calm down before the insanity of packing.

X-Brawn looked over at the two, "Small scale, tinny scale really." He snorted in distaste before drawling, "After talkin' wit' the Prime they agree to only do a few mechs. But he wants mah to pick out some of our micros and mini's tah pull a sneak." He motioned with his normal sized right arm. "But officially, it's the Foreman, Leadfoot, Topspin, Que, Mirage an' a few other mechs with the Autobot stamp. Or at least those willing to put one on."

"Unofficially?" Drift arched and optic ridge, looking down at Perceptor as she hummed and relaxed against him finally.

"The Insecticon drones, Shrapnel, Bombshell an' a scout Kickback." X-Brawn listed, "Blaster an' his minions, I'm sending Steeljaw tah watch Roadbuster's aft, and I was thinking of sending ya-"

Perceptor gripped white armor possessively and glared, the barrel on her shoulder clicking softly. "_Excuse me?_"

The head of security did the equivalent of rolling his optics as he continued un-phased, "-before we came in system, but with the Nemesis/Trypticon here I want you ta set up a strike force in case we need ta nip a problem in the bud before yar sparkling has hers." He nodded at the display window. "We still don't know when exactly Metroplex or Rapture is showing up."

Drift nodded, reaching up with one hand to scratch at his finnal panel, "Xianthum's ready to split her armor any time now... I'll get on that boss." His grin was almost feral and there was a hint of red in his sapphire optics for a moment while giving his mate a reassuring squeeze that he'd personally make sure there was no danger for Xianthum's offspring.

"Good, I need ta find a big kitten now," X-Brawn nodded to them before heading down the hall, grabbing a squawking Hotrod on the way to use the messenger. "Wedge! Roadbuster has a list of supplies for ya ta put together- get it off the Platform network."

"Aye!" the young Foreman in training called back, and with a parting word to Sideburn the golden Minibot loped off. He stopped only long enough to get the name of the shuttle to be used from the explode-y brothers Wheeljack and Que, hesitated but with Que's recurrence that it was the right shuttle headed off to organize the loading of supplies Perceptor had already had gathers, plus what Roadbuster wanted. _And_ what Leadfoot demanded as well given that the planet had a _lot_ of salt water on it.

In the insanity of packing, as Drift long ago dubbed it the chaos that resulted when ever Wreckers and Autobots get ready for a joint task, some things were overlooked or mis-translated.

Such as getting the wrong shuttle...

When those on the Xianthum heard, they were rather happy to be back on her, rather than on the shuttle the hit Earth's atmosphere with a protoform rattling shaking.

"_Que!_" Roadbuster didn't so much roar but thundered over the creaking, groaning shuttle as it vibrated and struggled against the heat and friction of planetary entry. The Foreman charged onto the bridge long enough to smack the blue and white mech on the back of the head, punch in a command where Que sat in the pilot's nest, "I said get a shuttle that can make planet fall- _not_ planet drop! This is a moon rated thing yea blue aft-cracking slag stuffed _maro'kila tu!_"

Que winced not only from the throb on his helm sensors but from the ancient Wrecker curse, Roadbuster did start talking in half dead languages unless he was running stressed enough for his Datum to poor extra energy into him. "I'm sorry boss!"

"We have enough energon ta crack this rock yea Nancy Wanker!" Roadbuster continued as he waved over to another panel, yanking it open to plunge his hands it to splice wires, "Imma goin' ta rip yea and new one when we land- Fragging Primus on Drift's big pointy sword!" the blurted out one of Blaster's invented curses as the mech lifted his head, his currently red visor flashed white then black as the two on the small bridge saw the display of the ship overlaying the view of clouds. They had just enough time to recognize the reading as a thruster frailer before the shuttle banked sharply to port as that wing died.

Maybe it was a good thing no one could hear the ship full of screaming mechs, dignity flying out the metaphorical air lock for the time being. Though each and every Wrecker and Autobot would deny that they did so up, down and sideways, then turn around and mercilessly tease and badger the NEST humans who were the only ones able to monitor the shuttle (thanks to a group invention of Wheeljack, Que, Mixmaster and Perceptor that cloaked it). Thus the human party panicked in three shades as well when the shuttle went from semi controlled entry to erratically swinging from the intended water landing to eventually plopping in the high desert like they had been shot.

It was pure dumb luck that Que managed to plop as gently as a ship that size could plop on earth, landing skid/gears grinding into the desert earth, tarring up countless unsuspecting prickling pear patches, cacti, a middle aged tree, and a randomly placed mail box as well as part of a road way as the shuttle gently turned with the momentum of one wing thruster. Once the shuttle completely stopped, and the last mech was able to hiccup a last frightened _blurk_ sound did any start heaving in air to cool systems back down and not only start scraping dignity back together but fitting some of the pieces back together.

"Well... we landed?" Que offered sheepishly after shutting down all thrusters. He winced as he was smacked by the Foreman again. "Okay I deserved that one too..." he said meekly, cowering away from the looming Roadbuster as his Command Signal pulsed out in an effective, silent scolding before the _Master Of Subtlety_ cut loose.

It was a twenty local minutes later when Roadbuster got enough of his annoyance and rage out at Que's stupidly of not taking time to look at shuttle module numbers when that was his only job as everyone had other things to do. The Foreman had Seconds and Thirds for a reason slag it because he couldn't do everything himself!

When Roadbuster finally stopped to gasp in air to cool down again, he turned at seeing red, scowling at Mirage and then his optics flashed under the protective visor, "What the frag is that?" He demanded staring at the organic thing the other mech had.

"...we ran over a native Foreman." Mirage said slowly, leaning back from the red and black gaze of the Forman until he felt Topspin's armor on his back. The thing though was that he was speaking not in any dialect Cybertronian but one of the local languages. It sounded so strange aloud that it took a moment for the two wreckers to really notice the gaping, wide eyed, traumatized human clasped within the red Autobot's claws.


	2. Chapter 2

Queen's Note: Okay, this is the second half of my trade/half gift story for Storm. Why I say that is that normally a trade story is 1,000 to 2,000 words and this is a multi-part thing. The trade I think is officially done, but I'm going to add one more part at least just because this is fun to write! Hope you like this part too sweetie!

**Landing**

Part Two

April really, really wished she could go back to a half an hour ago. No, more than that, back to night school so she could stay even later than normal, or maybe having taken a different route home.

Or maybe she shouldn't have gotten out bed at all... yeah, that one seemed to be the best choice in hindsight. The young woman had two blankets as well as a new pillow to brake in, and maybe pullover her laptop to finish an rp of SD Gundam.

This all was much better to think about instead of reality, where April was stuck in the massive curving claws of her captor, suspended a good 18 feet or so up in the air. If this wasn't an honest to god alien abduction, than April would pack her car (er, her _other_ car) and move up north to Washington and marry her friend Tallen.

...that was legal there now wasn't it?

Not fifteen minutes ago April had been looking up at visible stars in the night sky, they seemed to be brighter than normal. Without a single cloud to block the spectacular, desert view, it would have been a perfect night for her late night plan to watch the meteor shower. April had hoped to just lay sprawled out on saddle blanket in her pickup's bed to the truly natural show of shooting stars.

Soon she had saw the first of them, the first streaks of the light show to come, and then another. Probably right about now, April estimated as she squirmed again, the sky would by lit up about now

As she navigated to road, half watching out the windows she noticed out of the rearview mirror that one, no it had been more than one light of falling stars that April had seen. They didn't disappear as quickly as they had come, and in retrospect it maybe should have been a warning. But back then as the lights were still falling, and getting larger as they did so, April started to slow down and leaned over to the passenger seat to grab her bag. She had every intention to pull over and then to track the meteorites- maybe even find one to make enough money to pay for her house!

The meteorites turned out to be one, glowing on its own and not really a meteorite at all as it made a very hard landing... for all intentions, 'it' had landed on April and her SUV.

It had been clear out and then the next moment the Mother Nature's light show was completely blocked out. The next few minutes after that, April couldn't really remember what had happened, as her brain couldn't keep up with everything that happened. The earth had _vibrated_ and shook, all but opening up to eat the road, the air seemed to have been on fire as everything lit up for a moment. There was a roaring that came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

The world had spun around first one way then another way, and April found herself sitting hunkered low in her seat, the belt biting into her chest and shoulder. Knuckles white and fingers almost melded to the steering wheel as the minivan rocked slightly from side to side.

"I... think... I flipped..." April had said, staring blankly with wide eyes ahead of her. Slowly, the woman realized something as the brunet woman looked up. The overpowering smells of burned ozone, burnt plant matter, hot metal and a lot of heat. "I have no roof." She said, blinking as red and green lights glowed far above.

The red and black mech holding April shifted, jarring her back to the present, rolling gracefully on the tire like wheels on his feet. It was those damn advantage that had let him catch her, despite April's attempt to run like hell once she realized that the mecha being was _real_ and after her. He moved like one would on roller blades, only not. Space roller blades? April tried to get a look, glancing down, and regretted it as she saw the ear fall away ever more as there was a tugging sensation all around, on her skin and in her stomach.

"What the ff-puck?!" April blurted, this time scrambling to cling to her captor as everything took a teal shade.

There was a snort from behind and a little above the brunet woman, "Its just an anti-gravity lift human. Older module of ship," The mech gave a distasteful sniff, his voice though it had a metallic echo, was also surprisingly rich. Even when he muttered, "Itches in the gears..."

Mirage glanced down as he heard a whimper, noting the native was holding onto him, and fallowing its gazed, truly noticed the nonliving car. The condition it was in after an unexpected meeting with the shuttle's malfunctioning landing gear. Somewhat awkward, the mech rubbed the side of one claw on the human's back, attempting to somewhat comfort her. It wasn't taken overly well, or as seen as a comforting gesture. For a moment the former elite, Tower dweller, was miffed about that…. And then looked and _saw_ how... tiny the human was. As big as a sparkling or Blaster really that was in his palms, and being taken into a dimly lit shuttle that was protesting its rough landing by sparking, groaning supports, and hissing lines of fuel while Wreckers and Autobots alike rushed around in semi-controlled panic to repair things.

Okay he wasn't miffed anymore, and Mirage felt sorry for the human... though he was not going to admit it aloud as he stepped off onto the deck.

"Oh-slag!" The second mech that had ventured out with Mirage flailed as the gravity lift over charged, tossing the white and gray mech out if the blue glow. The Minibot made a far less graceful exit and laid sprawled at Mirage's feet.

The red mech held his human up away from the flailing limbs, then used a foot to poke the other Autobot, "Windcharger?"

"...ow..."

Blue optics looked up, and Mirage blinked, optics flashing, almost in time with the human, "You left a dent in the ceiling."

"I can fix that!"

"..." April blinked again and despite herself felt a flash of amusement as 'Windcharger' stand back up. The mech was the one that had lifted a metal sheet to block her run away path and let the red one grab her up. He was much smaller than her captor, Mirage? As well as all the other mechs visible. She gave a strangled noise as the red mech shifted her to one hand and helped pull the smaller one up and then they were off at Mirage's long, gliding stride with the smaller Autobot jogging after .

Well... at least the aliens in this abduction were semi-nice?

"**_What are we doing with the organic again?_**" Windcharger asked in Cybertronian, using the Wrecker sub-dialect out of habit.

Mirage snorted, "**_I wanted a pet._**" He reached down and smacked the Minibot in the back of the helm, "**_what do you think? We are taking it to the Foreman-_**"

"**_SOMEONE HELP!_**" A mech bellowed startling the two, so much so in fact that April found herself put down on a 'shelf' as the two Autobots pelted to the side. Mirage jumped to land on another mech, dignity temporary forgotten in favor of keeping the energon tank for rupturing.

April pin-wheeled her arms but fell heavily onto her knees; she gasped in a deep breath reflexively. Her nose was filled with the heavy scent of hot metal, and something else so new it could only be alien. She looked around at the shelf Mirage had put her one, finding that she was in what appeared to be a hall way, one that branched off into three defections. One of which was the open room... or hanger considering the size, but that's where Mirage and Windcharger had bolted to. They plus two others had all but dived onto a bulging hatch, struggling to hold it down, in fact the air around Windcharger was warping and pulsing around him, the Minibot used his unique ability. Able to control magnitizmen it was mostly him that kept the hatch from exploding, but he couldn't do it alone.

"**_What the frag is going on?!_**" A blue mech yelled as he came running down the hall, his appearance and the bellowed Cybertronian made April jumped. She stared with wide eyes as she watched the blue mech's wing like extensions flair out, fanning like plated wings as he took in the saturation. "**_Scrap._**" Topspin dived in as voices alternatively informed him of the over pressure in the storage tank.

"This... is a very weird night." April announced, watching the giant alien mechs basically spazz in controlled chaos.

Giant alien mechs that were all distracted... and this right here, April found that the shelf she was on wasn't isolated. Scooting to her right the woman extended a leg and her toes touched the clear box on the next shelf. Sliding onto that, the burnet peered over the cube's edges and found the same alien metal that made the wall, the textured patterns between smooth panels provided an excellent improvised ladder.

"**_Hat'ki!_**" A mech barked from behind.

April jerked, startled but didn't fall off as she finished climbing down to the ground, or deck. Only then did she turn around as the same alien word was parked out again at her, and April wondered if it was 'no' or something like 'hey!' She tilted her head as more alien gibberish was thrown at her... but no one could move. April arched an eyebrow at the mechs were haphazardly sprawled on the hatch to hold it in place. Windcharger was rooted in place, his optics off in concentration, while at the same time another set of dark blue optics glared at the woman.

"Do not even think about it organic." Mirage said in clear English, his voice carring over back into the hall despite the distance. But he was half on his back, gripping two holds while another mech was attached to the hatched over him.

The human woman tilted her head the other way.

"Get back up to that shelf!"

"Hmm..." April pretended to consider before drawing on South Park. She flipped the mech off, "Screw you, I'm going home!"

"What- you little- get back here!" Mirage yelled as the human ran off out of sight, "Primus frag it..." he muttered, the blades in his arms twitching in response to his annoyance.

"**_There went yea'r new pet._**" The wrecker over top of Mirage chuckled. "**_Forman's gonna kick yea'r aft after he's down with Que._**"

"**That_ is not my 'pet,'_**" Mirage's glare turned to the bigger Springer, "**_My pet..._**" the red mech lifted his head, and gave a loud, piercing whistling trill.

"**Primus mech!**" Springer protested with the others around.

Mirage ignored them as he stared at the door, letting Topspin and the other mech worked to divert pressure from this energon tank to the others in the shuttle. When the hunter spotted the pink and blue glow he smirked in satisfaction, as there in the door frame was the graceful queen cyber raptor that Mirage had hand raised back when there still had been Towers. Sleek and beautiful the predator was much like human knew as raptors on earth, but much larger. The size equivalent of a very large cat to the average mech, standing at the rear hip at seven feet, a base color of dark blue and the cyber raptor had several lines down her body that could change to different colors as well as the crest.

"**_There you are Delusion,_**" He jerked his head in the direction the human had run off to, "**_Find the organic, bring it back to me._**"

"Alive!" Windcharger added, and hearing the confused chirp from his friend's cyber raptor, he switched back to Cybertronian, "**_Alive._**"

"**_...yes alive Delusion, be gentle._**" Mirage ordered, looking at the optics of his raptor, a delicate violet shade that he had commissioned himself before the war. The raptor queen tilted her head, her ornate crest glowing the bright blue of interest, "**_Think of a new sparkling._**"

The raptor perked up, giving a trill to show she understood before darting off down the hall. Fallowing behind the dinosaur like creature was the raggedy looking (in Mirage's opinion) turbo fox cross breed that what Topspin's favorite fox. Thumper was a mix of long furred and metallic hide foxes, a 'mutt' that was blue-grey in color with yellow optics, one torn ear. The fox had a think mane around head, neck and shoulders but shorter fur along the back and bare metal on the under belly and legs.

Why something that bad looking was around on Cybertron, Mirage could never understand. But then the Wreckers were all daft in his opinion. The red mech preferred any of the three classic types of Foxes... but then he preferred those for the hunt he missed. More so, he preferred cyber raptors over turbo foxes, seeing raptors as being far more intelligent and graceful.

Basically it was the Cybertronian equivalent of humans' 'cat people' vs. 'dog people' argument.

As all this was going on, there was one scared woman running down the massive halls and finding something out. Before it had seemed like wasn't very far that Mirage had gone, but maybe it was? Fairly sure she was lost within five minutes, April didn't know that she passed the hatch in the floor with the gravity lift in it, now closed and only marked by a glyph. A glyph best seen from at least 15 to 20 feet up, not from ground level.

So April passed the spot she wanted.

Slowing down, the woman stopped next to the wall, gasping and trying to get her stomach out of her knees and heart out of her throat. April put a hand on the wall, taking a moment to feel the texture of the alien metal. Looking down she blinked, then on an impulse stooped to pick up and slipped a chunk, or a tiny sliver to the mechs, of metal into a pocket. She needed something to prove if only to herself that this all was real, _If I get out of here_, April thought sighing, gripping the warm bit of metal in her pocket.

A chirp made her look up, and up a bit more to meet the optics of Delusion. The cyber raptor cocked her head to one side, her crest glowing with colors slowly changing from red, to pink, to yellow, then blue with hits of green. The colors moving from the base of her head and back slowly to the edges of the crest, it was what Delusion and her kind used to hypnotize her native pry. Now the raptor was intending to 'heard' this funny looking organic being back to her master as ordered, and with each step she took, April took four backwards. It might have worked, except for one thing.

His name was thumper.

Chirping in excitement, the turbo fox bounded down the hall, startling human and raptor that both jumped. Giving an indigent warble, Delusion bounded forward, not even attempting to stop the human as April ran past (away from the hyper fox). The queen head butted Thumper, scolding the other mecha beast, and when the fox attempted to move around to go after April again, a Tail was slapped over his muzzle.

Yipping in complaint, Thumper shook his head and sat down. The turbo fox sneezed at Delusion who glared back. Mirage had said to be gentle like with a sparkling, that including protecting the human from fox training. Thumper pinned his ears back as he was smacked again, and ducked his head, watching as the cyber raptor trotted off after the human. The gears turned for a minute before ears perked up. If he couldn't hunt, maybe the human would want to play with him!

Unfortunately for the turbo fox, it wouldn't be for a month or so that he would get a chance to see if any human would play with him. As he would be put to work, and April at the moment was trying not to get stepped on.

She had taken a chance at crossing a junction of hall ways, and nearly got ran over by two very startled Insecticons who trilled in alarm and stumbled, trying to hold the coiled length of cable or tubing. April ducked, spun and just got her balance, running away from the indigent cries of the bug like mechs that where rather more scary looking. The burnet woman spotted an opening... that was her size! And on the ground level to boot!

April all but dove head first in there, there was a moment of squeezing in past a sharp looking bit of shuttle debris. Once past that part it opened up into a space that was comforting 'normal' in size, with the ceiling being about a story high and as long as two rooms put together. There was a background hum, but other than that the space was quieter, and the woman slipped in farther, away from the scolding raptor that was attempting to fallow, but her crest wasn't letting her.

"Okay, breather fer a minute." April said, a hand over her chest as she tried to get oxygen back into her system, away from the one entrance to her hidey-hole the woman took another look for another entrance, and _that_ over _there_ looked likely.


End file.
